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Nidali Irywen
Countess Nidali Irywen of Darguard is a female Dunmer afflicted with vampiricy, of an unknown age anywhere from 800-900 years old. Appearance Nidali carries all the signs of a Dark Elf afflicted with a vampirism: Batlike facial features, glowing orange eyes, sharp fangs. Her skin is the usual blue-gray of a Dunmer, although noticeably more pale. She conceals her vampirism with magic, so these symptoms are not noticeable if she is wearing her enchanted obsidian ring. Nidali is beautiful (particularly when using the ring), and has a pleasing figure, but when in a bad mood can be downright terrifying. She is slightly taller than average for a Dunmer. Her straight hair is pitch-black and goes down to just past her shoulders. Personality Cold, calculating, and obsessed with power, hiding behind a ordinary but reclusive facade. Nidali wears deception like a second skin. Nidali disregards morality. Blackmail, murder, torture, infidelity - all just a means to an end. Nidali is ruthless. She will do anything to secure an advantage or goal. She sees people as pawns to be manipulated, toys for her entertainment, or subjects for experimentation. She is also jealous and territorial. Should anyone infringe on what she considers to be hers, she will respond quite angrily. She enjoys power and luxury, and is always on the hunt for more. Indeed, if you have a good carrot on a stick, so long as nobody else can give her said carrot, she can be a reliable ally. Of course, she could still betray you if it benefits her more than you would. Skills Cold, calculating, and obsessed with power, hiding behind a ordinary but reclusive facade. Nidali wears deception like a second skin. Nidali disregards morality. Blackmail, murder, torture, infidelity - all just a means to an end. Nidali is ruthless. She will do anything to secure an advantage or goal. She sees people as pawns to be manipulated, toys for her entertainment, or subjects for experimentation. She is also jealous and territorial. Should anyone infringe on what she considers to be hers, she will respond quite angrily. She enjoys power and luxury, and is always on the hunt for more. Indeed, if you have a good carrot on a stick, so long as nobody else can give her said carrot, she can be a reliable ally. Of course, she could still betray you if it benefits her more than you would. Skills: Nidali's talents lie in the areas of stealth, deception, and exploitation. Her condition, while weakening her to fire and making sunlight potentially fatal, comes with several benefits. She no longer ages, can see in the dark, and has an affinity for stealth and illusions. Nidali is a master illusionist, and has adapted her magic to touch and read the minds of others. This is not easy, depending on how complicated the task is and how deeply she needs to dig. A temporary connection, to skim thoughts, requires a fleeting touch to the head or base of neck, while more complicated tasks take time and effort. Her influence over Manie' Irywen took many nights to complete. Over the course of her lifespan, she has dabbled in most schools of magic. Nidali is a very good liar, and is quite often hiding behind layers of deception, allowing people to see her as she wishes them too. She also has a strong will, a result of centuries of attacking the minds of others. Nidali is not a skilled fighter, and will most likely have to flee or launch a mental assault upon being attacked. If forced to fight, her weapons of choice would be two short axes, favoured for their brutality and ability to cleave through flesh. Equipment Nidali's most notable piece is the obsidian ring on her hand, which contains an enchantment that hides the outward signs of her condition. Her wedding ring is also present more often than not. A steel knife is often concealed on her person for various purposes, and two apparently decorative axes in a display case, which are actually suited for combat. Background Nidali was born approximately eight to nine hundred years ago. She cannot remember when it exactly was. The illegitimate daughter of an "adventurer" and a tavern maid, Nidali had a difficult childhood. No father, and a bitter mother who blamed Nidali for "ruining her life" (Ignoring the fact that she now did nothing but drink, while Nidali had to look after them both) and often beat the girl. After enduring this treatment for eighteen years Nidali finally snapped and, in a fit of rage, stormed out. The next decade was hard, but Nidali did whatever was necessary to survive. She was finally free, and she planned to stay that way. By this point, Nidali was bitter and vengeful. She had been cheated, insulted, and taken advantage of too many times. So she began to seek methods to make her stronger, more powerful. Powerful enough to revenge injury or insult a thousand times over. She began by enrolling in the Cyrodiil Mage's Guild, having left Morrowind. She took to Illusion magic quickly, and dabbled in Alteration and Mysticism. However, when she began experimenting, testing her theories on unwilling students, she was expelled. But she had started to gain the power to manipulate minds. Fear, pain, pleasure; she could make base emotions and instincts trigger. But she craved more. Nidali wandered the lands of Tamriel for years, until her attention turned to Daedra worship. Molag Bal, Prince of Domination, seemed best suited to her desire to crush all that would hold her down. Years later, now into her fifth decade, she was one of the Prince's most devoted followers (But by 4E, she had turned her back on it) and participated in a brutal ritual. Having survived -in a manner of speaking- she rose as a Daughter of Coldharbour, forehead marked with the Prince's own blood. As a member of the Volkihar clan of Skyrim her abilities grew. Over the course of several hundred years, Nidali grew to master Illusion magic, and her experiments continued, growing crueller and more informative over time. She learned to influence not just sensory input, but the mind itself. She could modify the way somebody thought in various degrees, but there were limits. She could not , for instance, force complete and utter obedience (yet). But suggestions, seeds of doubt or suspicion, those sort of things could be planted. After five hundred years, the leader of the Volkihar clan grew paranoid about Nidali's experiments and ability at influencing people. She was sent away, and told never to return. She was once again alone, but had long since invented methods to hide her glowing eyes, pale skin, fangs and making her face appear as it naturally would have. This meant she could live amongst mortals without fear of persecution. High Rock was her new home. She managed to avoid being killed for another hundred years, and built up a nest of her own. She recruited new blood in various ways, and soon had built a comfortable life for herself and a few others of her kind in the mountains. Nidali was 784 when her new clan was exposed and hunted down, her being the only one to escape both alive and unidentified. She was furious, but bade her time. She discovered who had ordered the attack, and tore their mind into shreds. The man had to be fed and changed for the rest of his life, now a blank-eyed husk. And after this task was done, Nidali thought up a new plan to achieve wealth and power. The burning obsession to dominate had now cooled, and Nidali decided to take a new approach. A Breton, the count of Darguard suddenly announced his marriage to a beautiful Dunmer woman. Of course, most assumed she was just a trophy wife, marrying him for his money and he for her looks. But the count's new wife was reclusive, and after the wedding, not often seen unless her presence is required due to some important event or something of the like. With the aid of her mind-magic, Nidali had crept into his home during the nights, and spent them meddling with his head. She soon had everything in place. One evening, Maniel Irywen threw a party for his noble friends. At the party, a gatecrashing Nidali arranged for him to meet her, flirted, seduced him, and when he woke up, her hold was complete. She had sown an incredible loyalty and some obedience to her in his head. He was effectively enslaved, unable to disobey her. Nidali ordered him to marry her, and he immediately arranged it. This meant Nidali was now a countess, with full access to his wealth and resources. Category:Characters Category:Shornhelm